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Hence, the individual must always strive to be aware of these forces acting upon his heart. He must always try to be awake and never let himself become neglectful. Ifhe becomes neglectful, he will stray from his one purpose in life: being true and sincere to Allah in his worship of Him. He must always try to follow those steps that will increase his faith and keep him from straying. He must always turn to Allah and ask Allah to guide him to sincerity and purity for His sake. The Hadith Points Out the Importance of Knowledge Before Acting This hadith clearly demonstrates that a Muslim must have knowledge before acting. A person must have the intention to do an act which is proper or, at least, permissible. However, he cannot have such an intention unless he first knows that the act is proper or permissible. If a person does an act without knowing the ruling of that act, then he cannot claim that his intention was pure. His intention is characterized by his understanding of that act and whether or not that act is permissible. If he did not care whether the act is permissible or not, then he did the act with a careless intention. That is, his intention was that he did not care if the act was permissible or not. Allah states in the Quran, Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of His lord" (al-Kahf 1 10). Commenting on this verse, ibn al-Qayyim wrote, This is in reference to the only type of deed that Allah will accept. The deed must be in accordance with the sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and done solely for the Countenance of Allah. A doer cannot possibly fulfill both of these conditions unless he has knowledge. If he does not know what has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then he cannot intend that. If he is not knowledgeable of whom he worships, he cannot intend Him alone in his deeds. If it were not for knowledge, his deed could not be acceptable. It is knowledge that guides to sincerity and purity and it is knowledge that indicates what is the actual following of the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him). 1 Proper Intention and "Wrong" Results A person's intention determines the reward for the deed even if the result of the deed is not what the person desired. Once a father gave some charity to the person in charge of the charity and he, unknowingly, gave the charity to the man's son. The father said to the Prophet (peace be upon him), "I did not desire it to go to him." The Prophet (peace be upon him) told him, "For you is what you intended," and he told the son who received the charity, "For you is what you have received." (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) Similarly, if someone gives charity to a certain person because he believes that person to be poor, although the truth is otherwise, he will still be rewarded due to his intention. This once again demonstrates the importance and place of intention. Proper Intention is One of The Greatest Forms of Worship The intention behind a deed is something that only the person and Allah are aware of. It is private between the person and Allah. There is no way for any insincerity to exist in this matter, as opposed to outward deeds that are seen by others. Therefore, it will be greatly rewarded by Allah as the person cannot seek any worldly benefit from it whatsoever. Perhaps this is partially 1 Quoted from Ali al-Saalihi, Al-Dhau al-Muneer ala al-Tafseer, (Riyadh: Muassasat al-Noor, n.d.), vol. 4, p. 1 73. j Hadith #1 : All Actions are but by Intentions . . . what Sahl ibn Abdullah meant when he said, "There is nothing more difficult upon the soul than ikhlaas (purity for the sake of Allah) because the soul itself gets no portion from it."1 al-Niyyahand al-Ikhlaas : The Heart of the Matter The importance of this question of niyyah ("intention") and ikhlaas ("purity in one's deeds," that is, acting solely for the sake of Allah) cannot be overstated. It is really the key matter around which all of this creation revolves. It must be the goal and purpose of the human being beyond which there can be no other goal or purpose. Allah has stated, - / .,.,.,, "° J J ,,. . ȍ ':J\ '':}\/ -1\ 9 8/ U) . Ǝ j (.!;"'"' j ,,.. / k / "And I (Allah) created not jinn and men except that they should worship Me (alone)" (al-Dhaariyaat 56). Purity of intention is, in actuality, the differentiating point between worshipping Allah correctly and not worshipping Him correctly or at all. It is what differentiates the one who worships only Allah and the one who worships something along with Allah.